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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Diversity in Your Writing

There was a boy with skin as dark as the earth & a girl with eyes as blue as the deep & they loved each other so well that people could not tell them apart, for in their hearts, there was no difference between them.(storypeople)

Skin color found its way into my novel, and it’s important ... but not the defining characteristic. (Kekla Magoon)

Do you bring diversity into your stories? Some writers feel uncomfortable, nervous they won't do the characters justice. But I say, show the world as a microcosm in your stories. Because until differences become matter-of-fact, they will continue to stick out like a sore thumb. We come across people of differing faiths, skin colors, and sexual orientation everyday, and so should your MC.

We went to our first birthday party this weekend where the boy had two dads. I talked about it with my six-year-old on the way home because it presented us an opportunity to show him how things are in the world.

I said, "Isn't it so cool there are different kinds of families? A Mom and a Dad, two Dads, two Moms, or just one parent. The most important thing is that there is love and kindness in a family."(you can't go much deeper than that with a six-year-old)

His response? "Yeah, it's cool. Can I play Angry Birds on your phone now?"

20 comments:

Personally for my writing diversity has never made it's way in, however if it does I will certainly embrace it. I see nothing wrong with the fact that our society is different now so with that comes different stories, lives, and overall feelings.

I love what you said to your six year old. It was deep enough, regardless of whether or not they would have rather played angry birds, lol.

Oh yeah, I use diversity a LOT. It's what fascinates me most in this world and I'm not afraid to write about it. After all, a story with just one type of person would be just as boring as a world with just one type of person.

Like Jen, I haven't come across this yet in my writing, but when it does I will embrace it. Our world is made up with so many wonderful people, stories etc., and connecting with those through writing is wonderful.

The picture of the two hands at the top of your blog is beautiful. I love it. I admit that I don't use diversity enough, and you're right, it's so important to write into stories. I need to make an effort to do that more (especially as a teacher; I should be setting a good example!).

I love finding the quirks in my characters to show the diversity. Finding varying backgrounds of life is a lot of fun. At one point, however, I started to find that I was over doing it and it felt unnatural to the story or it just became unecessary information. I've learned to keep it in nice moderation now and that's what was most important for me ;)

Because I've lived much of my life in diversity, it makes its way into my novels. The one I'm shopping doesn't have diversity but that's because the town I chose for the setting isn't diverse. But my current WIP has a half-Asian half-caucasion chick. Her ethnicity is only hinted at since it's not really the story.

That reminds me of something my brother said when he was little, maybe two or three. My cousin's husband Dave is a big guy, a former football player. He's also black, and joined not only a white family, but a very white community.

After a family get-together, my mom asked my little brother if he noticed anything different about Dave. He thought for a second and said, "His hair?"

Interesting topic! I don't remember the last book I read that had some sort of diversity. I wish there were more out there. I'm not sure why people are so afraid of color. The other day when I asked who's the new manager, my co-worker whispered "the black guy" sitting over there. I found it odd. Why are we tiptoeing around race?? To me, prentending it doesn't exisit is just about as bad as thinking it's the only thing that matters.

My current WiP is set in sub-saharan Africa, and most of the main characters are black native Africans, though there are also some white Africans, so I suppose it is quite diverse. As a writer my main worry is about how I can realistically portray a culture that I do not belong to, and how it would be recieved by people from that culture. Perhaps they would find my interpretation patronising or offensive? That's why I think it's important to research a lot about a culture before you write about it-perferable speaking to people in person and visiting that area so that you can write about it with more truth. I think it's also important to include diversity for a reason, not just because you want it to seem more realistic/modern etc.

There's always going to be that one critic or reader who will tear up your writing no matter what it's about. I say go for it. If the setting of the story is set in the current, show off all the diversity. Even if it's not set in current times, it was just more hidden. Even more taboo if you ask me.

You are so right. When I thought of my WIP, it's a YA fantasy, one of my characters is gay. It's not a big deal,and it's really not part of the story. But he just is. My MC's love interest is dark skinned. Anyway, I try to always teach my daughter about diversity, and she knows that two boys and two girls can get married if they love each other.

It's definitely something I try to think about, for accuracy. It's not realistic in an urban setting for all the characters to be white. It's just not. Same goes for considering religion, sexual orientation, etc.

And I love your mommy teaching moment! (And his response! My almost three-year-old also really likes Angry Birds. I'm not sure if I'm proud of his skill, or concerned.)